Tuesday, July 24, 2012

The world beyond Aurora, CO Part II

Meanwhile, in Chicago, the triumph of strict gun control laws continues apace:
Three men are dead and at least 28 other people wounded from gun violence across the city since Friday night.
Those guns just won't leave people alone. And the fun happens all over town:
The weekend’s first fatal shooting happened in the 400 block of North Austin Boulevard, after a man intervened in a domestic argument between the suspect and a woman, police said. The suspect left to get a handgun, then returned about 12:50 a.m. on Saturday and opened fire, striking the man and two other people.
That's the west side of Chicago -- Austin Boulevard is the border between Chicago and Oak Park, where I lived 20 years ago. There's more:
Another man died after he was shot in the abdomen in the 4200 block of North Milwaukee Avenue at 1:46 a.m, police said. Pablo Hernandez, 41, of the 3500 block of South 60th Court in Cicero, was pronounced dead at Masonic at 3:37 a.m., according to medical examiner’s office.
That's the Northwest side and a generally quiet area. But there's more:
About 6 a.m. on Saturday, Gerry Woods, 37, was shot at his home in the 4500 block of South Wood Street after he had apparently been in a fight with another man, authorities said. The other man returned to the scene with a semi-automatic handgun and fired several shots at Woods, authorities said, adding that the shooting may have been gang-related.
That's the South side, in the quiet neighborhood known as Back of the Yards, which borders the Bridgeport redoubt where the Daley clan lives.

The thing that strikes you is this:  Milwaukee Avenue and Austin Boulevard are major thoroughfares. It's been 20 years since I lived in the Chicago area, but these are areas that weren't especially known for violence back then. When I left, the Austin neighborhood was getting back on its feet a little bit. Things change.

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